In addition the team at Uncaged has put up the website,
www.boycottnamibia.co.za,
please log in and give the seals your support.
We are their voice to end this barbaric slaughter of their
young.
|
To interview Mr. Francois Hugo |
From: SEAL ALERT-SA
Seal
Alert-SA, Press Release, July 14, 2007
Seal
Alert-SA's Seal-Man Partnership With Seashepherd Underway
- Saving The Cape Fur Seals -
Namibian Permanent Secretary of Fisheries Nangula Mbako
recently accused Seal Alert-SA "opportunists who have found
a platform to harness financial resources for the
sustenance of their livelihoods". We were accused of
something similar by the South African Fisheries Officials,
when they claimed our Seal Rescues were "Seal feeding
exercises to raise funding". How wrong they were to single
out Seal Alert-SA. Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA has
never appealed for funding to end the Namibian Baby Seal
Slaughter, hell I don't even operate my own website, and
since 1999 have yet to draw a salary, what is more I have
invested substantially my own personal funds in these seals
future. Websites are performed by a dedicated group of
deeply concerned individuals from around the world, who
have each taken their own time and resources to partner
with Seal Alert-SA to save this species of seal.
Seal Alert-SA is a
worldwide network of supporters, its a partnership and not
a charity.
Few people understand
that the costs of running a Seal Rescue Centre and doing up
to 1000 seal rescues a year (a third of the world's total
seal rescues of all seal species) single-handed is immense.
Construction, equipment, repairing, rescue and
rehabilitation costs are never ending.
Captain Paul Watson of
Seashepherd
www.seashepherd.org
whilst
abroad his vessel in the icy cold Antarctic fighting the
illegal Japanese whalers, understood this, and had his
thoughts and deep concerns on the Cape fur seals of
southern Africa, when he wrote, "Our goal is to remove
some of the time and effort you put into fund-raising
and allow you more time for the seals, both to
rehabilitate seals and to oppose the slaughter in
Namibia". Thanks to Seashepherd in 2007, Seal Alert-SA
is doing just that.
Please therefore read
the following Media Release from Seashepherd at the end of
this update. In addition Seashepherd's crew, and in
particular Carla, has been hard at work setting up another
really informative website for Seal Alert-SA. Please visit
the site and support, www.seashepherd.org/seal-alert/
.
Seal Alert-SA has also
released its third Movie-Clip, the Seal Alert-SA promo (a
short glimpse into one aspect of the work we do). Please
view this clip in "small window" as we have kept picture
quality low for worldwide web release. This and the series
of clips can be viewed at
Youtube
www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=73AD049CF4B92A18
,
there is also a link on
Google Video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7822592018415723399
.
In addition the team at Uncaged has put up the
website,
www.boycottnamibia.co.za,
please log in and give the seals your support.
We are their voice to end this barbaric slaughter of their
young.
SEAL ALERT-SA
Our
High-Speed Rescue Seal Transport Craft and our Jetski,
equipped with Dive Gear, Seal Disentanglement equipment,
Rescue & film Equipment and Seal Food
Our
two internal rehabilitation pools, one for baby seals the
other for larger seals weighing up to 300 kg
Our beach
patrol seal stranding transport buggy
and
our jeep for launching and retrieving our watercraft
Our off-shore floating rehab structure (seals home away
from island). Pups adopt this as their natal birth colony
for up to two years
Inside our
Seal Centre
or
on Our Floating Rafts the care is the same
Small
or Big, each seal gets the best treatment and care on their
terms
My dear wife
Nelda, our unique mini-global egg collection/production
through which we fund our own income and that of the needs
of seals.
Our 4x4 with onboard video equipment to deal with the
hectic fast pace visiting journalists require to get the
full picture and its ability to respond to stranded and
dying seals far and wide.
Thank
You, Captain Paul Watson of Seashepherd Conservation
Society and to all its members, staff and supporters.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
www.seashepherd.org/seal-alert
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society –International Headquarters
To Interview Captain Paul Watson –
Contact: Kristine Vasic, Media Relations Director
Telephone: +1-360-370-5650
To interview Mr. Francois Hugo –
Telephone: +27-(0) 21-790 8774
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 9, 2007 |
|
For
photos, video,
and
additional information, please visit
http://media.seashepherd.org
SEA
SHEPHERD JOINS FORCES WITH THE SEAL
WHISPERER
South
African Group Seal Alert’s Work Saves Thousands of
Seals
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is joining forces with
Francois Hugo and his seal-saving organization, Seal
Alert-SA. Sea Shepherd has already begun to finance the
operations of Seal Alert in South Africa for their work
protecting the beleaguered Cape fur seals.
Seal Alert is
the only organization in southern Africa that not only
advocates for seals, but campaigns, protests, introduces
protection legislation, and also, rescues seals every
day.
Denied
access to most large islands by the government, these seals
(also called South African fur seals) have been forced to
breed and pup on smaller islands that, in most cases,
consist of small low lying rocks which frequently become
completely or partially awash. This causes
almost a 100% mortality rate each year via the washing away
and drowning of newborn pups. Seal Alert rescues hundreds
of these abandoned seal pups each year. Another factor
devastating the seal populations is the sealers in Namibia
who are slaughtering every pup still alive at the beginning
of sealing season on the mainland. Additionally, the
commercial fishing industry shoots seals and
entangles/drowns thousands, while also causing the
starvation of half the population annually due to
overfishing.
Born
and raised in Cape Town (the Cape of Storms), Hugo spent
his early years as a full-time crayfish fisherman, salvage
diver, and Navy diver, spending more time underwater than
on land. He then journeyed into the world of corporate
intelligence, and conducted undercover operations in many
African countries involving crime syndicates, mafia, drug
smuggling, child trafficking, and illegal diamond dealing.
The entanglement and dying of one baby seal drew his
attention, and since that day, he and his wife, Nelda, have
dedicated their lives to the saving of the
seal species. Now 44, Hugo heads Seal Alert, and using
his acquired investigational skills, he is untangling the
web of deceit that surrounds this species, while living his
motto, “My day starts with the objective of saving the life
of a seal – everyday.”
Seal
Alert has set up a rehabilitation center in Hout Bay, not
far from Cape Town, where Hugo has and continues to
rehabilitate scores of rescued seal pups and successfully
returns them to the sea.
Outspoken,
controversial, stubborn, and passionate are words that come
to mind when Francois Hugo’s name is mentioned in Southern
Africa. He has been called the “Seal Whisperer” because of
his intuitive interaction and unique connection with the
seals. As Hugo says, “My work is a labor of love born out
of a deep genuine desire to protect and conserve these
magnificent animals.”
For
that reason, Sea Shepherd has decided to create a
partnership with Francois Hugo and Seal Alert. Conservation
of marine wildlife is at the core of Sea Shepherd’s
mission. Sea Shepherd has supported Seal Alert for over 7
years, providing an inflatable rescue boat and other
material contributions as well as publicizing and promoting
their work on the Sea Shepherd website. Sea Shepherd looks
forward to saving the lives of many seals with Hugo and
Seal Alert.
For more information:
www.seashepherd.org/seal-alert
END
About Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
(SSCS) is an International non-profit conservation
organization whose mission is to end the destruction of
habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in
order to conserve and protects ecosystems and species. Sea
Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to
investigate, document, and take action when necessary to
expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By
safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced
ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their
survival for future generations. Founder and President
Captain Paul Watson, also co-founder of Greenpeace
Foundation, is a renowned, respected leader in
environmental issues.
